Barnes & Noble with the Sykes

We had a great time with the Sykes on Friday. The fun began at Barnes & Noble where Ashleigh and Merit played with the train, LEGOs and read books. Baby Madelyn even got in on the action. After B&N they came over to our house. We ate lunch and the kids had a little more time to play. What a special time with special friends!

 

Apple Raisin Bread

I made this yummy bread on Friday. It really turned out wonderful! It is moist and very flavorful! I modified this recipe just a bit.

My modifications include:

1. vanilla flavored Greek yogurt instead of plain

2. all whole wheat flour and not any white

1/2 cup of dates instead of raisins (I had dates on hand but no raisins) :)

And, I used 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup of Stevia instead of 1/2 cup of white sugar

 

http://www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com/2012/04/10/apple-raisin-bread/

 

Balloons...they make anyone smile!

On Tuesday, we did a little shopping together. We went to Nordstrom Rack, Marshall's and some other store that the name escapes me at the moment. The nice lady at Nordstrom Rack gave Merit a blue balloon and completely made his day. Love that smile!

 

Prints on Canvas...easy and inexpensive!

I have a ton of framed pictures in my home. Maybe some would say too many pictures! So, I decided to try something new. I found a blog that had information on how to adhere pictures to canvas. I ended up printing these black and white pictures on my computer at home and I used just bright white paper. First, I used black paint and painted the sides of the canvas black. I then painted a good thick coat of Mod Podge on the canvas and then adhered the picture to the front. You have to be really careful in order to get it smooth without bubbles but it is possible. :) After I smoothed out the bubbles I let it dry. I painted three coats of Mod Podge on top of my picture and made sure I used plenty on the sides too. You can see a picture of the finished product below. They turned out wonderfully! Then I used my two new pictures to make a beautiful collage for my new family room. Lovely!

 

A couple of blogs I used:

http://www.mommymodelsblog.com/?p=2051

 

http://howtonestforless.com/2012/09/24/mod-podge-photo-canvas-prints/

 

 

 

Stickers, Basketball, and More!

We worked on Merit's Toy Story sticker/activity book this morning and Merit said he really needed to wear his Woody hat while we worked. :) Silly boy. He looked so cute. We also played a little basketball with his new McQueen hoop set that Nana and Popo gave him for Christmas. What a great way to start our day!

 

Love This Weather!

After Merit woke up from his nap on Sunday afternoon, we headed straight to the playground. We soaked up as much sun and warmth as possible!

 

Car Wash with Giraffe

Merit used to now enjoy going to the car wash. However, he now loves to go and often takes a friend with him. Today he chose to take Giraffey. He loves watching the car move slowly through the wash. I'm so glad he enjoys the little things in life!

 

Love These!

Alicia and I have great memories of playing with these while we were on our family ski trips. I can remember buying packages of them at the toy store in Breckenridge and then being so excited to take them back to the condo. Well, I introduced these to Merit a while back and he is always excited to get a new package. He loves to watch them slowly grow and see what they become!

 

Movie with Mimi

Daddy was in Las Vegas for a conference this week so Mimi came to visit us for a couple of days. Merit wanted Mimi to see the movie Hook because that is one of his favorites right now. Merit held Mimi's hands so she wouldn't be too scared of captain Hook. So cute!

 

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

We really, really want it to snow again! However, there is no snow in sight so we decided we would create some snowflakes of our own. We used snowflakes made out of foam and pressed them in white paint and then pressed them on paper. The finished products are beautiful!